Clinton picks up backing of red-state Dem

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) Monday, saying that she meets his requirements for the next president — a candidate who “must be experienced and seasoned, must be smart and must be tough.”

Saying that he believes the “stakes in this election are profound,” Bayh, a moderate whose blessing could help Clinton pick up votes in Republican states, said the former first lady understands the concerns of the American heartland that he represents.

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"Deep down she cares more than anything else about progress — and that progress in our system can only come by forging consensus," Bayh said of Clinton.

“Her national security approach will be more effective than the current administration, because it will be more comprehensive."

Clinton hailed Bayh’s endorsement, saying she also looked forward to his counsel if she’s elected.

"The really hard work starts after you win,” Clinton said. “And that's when I will need the guidance of someone I admire so much."

She said Bayh’s endorsement underlined her commitment to a national campaign and her belief that Democrats “should campaign everywhere in the country."

Bayh, a former chair of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, had sought the Democratic nomination himself but abandoned his quest in December in the face of the strong machines being built by Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

At the time, Bayh said in a statement: “The odds were always going to be very long for a relatively unknown candidate like myself, a little bit like David and Goliath.”

Bayh, who had already been oft-discussed as a promising potential vice-presidential pick for Clinton, had held back on endorsing her in part because of doubts about her popularity in Indiana, Democratic sources said.

Indiana is among the most reliably Republican states — “the reddest of the red,” as one Democratic official recently labeled it.

The Hoosier State went 57 percent for George W. Bush in 2000 and 60 percent for President Bush’s reelection in 2004.

His endorsement could help undermine the argument of her rivals for the Democratic nomination that she would not be electable in a national contest.

Clinton and Bayh serve together on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In January, they appeared at a news conference together after a congressional delegation visit to armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In March, Clinton was endorsed by former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who had ended his Democratic presidential campaign a month before.

Earlier this month, she was endorsed by retired four-star Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2004 and considered doing so again this year.

As Clinton picked up a high-profile Senate backer inside the Beltway, the Obama campaign rolled out its own endorsement — former Iowa Democratic Party chairman, Gordon Fischer — in a conference call with reporters.

Obama is “the candidate who has the best chance against any of the Republicans in the field," Fischer said. "I am 1,000 percent convinced of that ... a candidate who has coattails and can help down-ballot candidates."